KENOSHA — Gov. Tony Evers will hold the first public listening session, in a statewide series of events, to get input on his proposed 2023-25 state budget here next Tuesday (Dec. 13).
The session runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Civil War Museum, 5400 1st Ave. The listening session is open to the public, but advance registration is required.
In-person budget listening sessions
Next week’s event is the first of what the governor’s office calls a statewide “Doing the Right Thing” listening session tour. A virtual listening session is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 14). Register and participate via Zoom here.
Another in-person budget listening session is planned for Tuesday, Dec. 20 in Green Bay, the governor’s office announced on Friday. Other listening session dates and locations will be announced in the coming weeks.
“The best part of my job as governor is getting out of the Capitol and listening to Wisconsinites, whether it’s at their homes or businesses, at their schools, in their farm fields, nursing homes, or at listening sessions like these,” Evers said in a news release.
“Since taking office, we’ve hosted conversations regularly to hear directly from the people about the challenges we face and the kind of future we want to build for our state. These conversations have guided our work, from developing our priorities every day to preparing a budget that reflects the will of the people of this state. I can’t wait to get to hear from folks and families in the weeks and months ahead about the issues they care about most.”
Wisconsinites are also welcome to submit written comments on any topic at any time before or after the listening sessions here.
Evers, a Democrat, is expected to submit a proposed budget to the Wisconsin Legislature in early 2023. The Republican-controlled Legislature is not obligated to follow any of the governor’s suggestions and is likely to create its own spending plan for 2023-25. That’s what happened in the 2021-23 biennium.
Because the two sides agreed on very few spending initiatives in the last state budget, Wisconsin has a massive amount of unspent state funds. The state of Wisconsin’s current budget is projected to have a record $6.6 billion surplus, according to a recent report by the state Department of Administration.